“MEKTOUB” AND OTHER SUPERSTITIONS
Having now seen the principles of the faith as set out by the Koran,
we must turn our attention to the more superstitious side, which,
as in all faiths, has grown up with the course of time.
As stated before, the first great fundamental point which dominates
the whole of Islam and makes it unlike other beliefs is summed up
in that word _mektoub_—“It is written.” Generally speaking,
every Mohammedan is a fatalist, and believes that nothing can occur
which is not ordained; there is no free will and all is in the hands
of Allah. There are, however, certain philosophers who discuss this
point and who say that it is wrong to lay every evil action on the
back of the _mektoub_.
For instance, they say that a man who deliberately buys a bottle
of wine and drinks it has no right to say that God predestined
this. These philosophers are, however, in the minority, and ninety
per cent of the Arabs believe that they are powerless to avoid what
is fated.
The Arabs say, “When God created the world he took a handful
of dust in either hand, cast it to right and to the left. The
dust to the right was destined to be people who would always be
happy and inherit paradise; the dust to the left only contained
woes and eternal damnation.” “God created you, you and all
your actions,” Koran Sourate, XXXVII. That is to say that all,
good and bad, are decided and determined by the Almighty. Sins are
predestined and are divided into two categories, the greater and the
lesser. The greater comprise theft, adultery, usury, wine-drinking,
false witness. The smaller are the weaknesses of human nature, but,
whatever they may be, man is destined to commit them, and nothing
can prevent him from so doing.
That is why Arabs take life so calmly, never hurry, or get into
unnecessary tempers when things go wrong. They firmly believe that
what is written is written, and that no power but God can alter it.
Taking them as a whole, it makes them seem very happy, and it would
appear to be the only solution to the worries of modern life.
From this point of view are developed many other beliefs, and it is
the basis of the strength of the Moslem faith. Mohammed, though a
great religious genius and a reformer, was not a theologist, and
it is even curious to note the lack of dogma in the Koran. His
great merit was the way in which he created a great and living
organization. His successors developed the theological side of the
matter, but, if one examines the Koran itself, one is struck by the
absence of mysticism. It is, in itself, more a book of laws, such as
the Old Testament. The whole of the theology is really compressed
into two passages occurring in Sourates II. and IV., which, summed
up, convey that the true Mohammedan who wishes to be saved must
believe in God; the prophets or envoys of God, with Mohammed as the
greatest; the angels, the inspired books—that is to say the Bible,
with the Koran as the most important; and the Day of Judgment.
They further believe in heaven and hell, which are depicted very
roughly as places of happiness and torment. Above hell is a bridge
as narrow as a hair and as sharp as a knife-blade, across which the
souls of the dead departed must pass to enter heaven. The sinners
slip and fall into hell, while the righteous cross safely with
the aid of the sheep into heaven. Mankind is divided into three
categories—those who deny Mohammedanism are destined to eternal
fire; those who believe in one God, but who, being sinners, pass
through a state of purgatory before going into Paradise; those few
strict Mohammedans who go direct to heaven.
Hell is very hot; there is nothing to eat but _dari_, the bitter
fruit of a thorny desert bush, and only boiling water to drink.
Heaven is a glorious garden where youth always remains and where
the blessed lie on carpets beside ever-flowing streams beneath
the shade of fruit-trees, drinking a delicious wine which does not
intoxicate, while young girls, ever virgins, sit beside the water
and live in a state of contemplative happiness. In other words,
hell is an accentuation of all the hardships of life in the desert,
while heaven promises all those things which an Arab has never seen
on earth.
Quite apart from the Koran, and apparently contrary to its
principles, is the belief in saints. The origin of this cult is
difficult to find, as the whole basis of the faith is that there
is only one God. It is, however, generally supposed that it is
a relic of other religions which existed prior to the spread of
Islam. This theory is rather confirmed by the fact that more saints
and _marabouts_ exist in North Africa, where the Carthaginians and
the Romans held such long sway, than in any other Mohammedan country.
Other people will say that the worship of saints is necessary
owing to the inexpressible greatness of God—his distance from
all things human, which necessitates some kind of intermediary;
but this has little foundation to stand on, for even among the most
superstitious Mohammedans, who are always invoking some holy man,
you will always hear them murmur during their prayer, “There is
no God but Allah.”
The veneration of saints is in reality a respect for the life of
the person concerned. It may be that his asceticism and his charity
have raised him above others; it may be that his exploits in the
name of Islam have made him famous; it may merely be the fact
that he is easier to visualize than God—the fact remains that he
is venerated and that his aid is invoked in times of trouble. But
whether he be merely respected as an example of what a true believer
should be or whether he be actually called upon as a protector,
he is not considered as divine, nor in any way approaching the one
and only God.
Apart, however, from what we call superstitions of the actual faith,
there are countless others which do not come into the religion, and
which, while all have the same origin, differ according to countries.
A few words have already been said on this subject, but it is felt
that, in order really to understand the Arab, the question must be
further developed.
The belief in spells and witchcraft seems a contradiction in a people
wrapped up in religion, but it will never enter their heads that
bringing supernatural powers to bear on the matters of this world,
be it for good or for bad, is placing oneself on the same footing
with the Almighty.
They maintain that, as angels exist, djinns and other creatures
of the underworld are just as comprehensible, and can be invoked
in the same way to carry out requests. Again and again one will
meet people who will tell you that dragons live, and that there
are people who have seen them and have spoken to them! All sorts
of animals are supposed to bring good or evil luck, and amulets
with the feet of lizards, the feathers of the hoopoe, the tooth of
a jackal, can be seen attached round the necks of babies.
The Koran is always placed in the cradle of the newly born, and
there are people who keep pages of the Holy Book to hire out to
those who can not afford to buy one.
It would take far too long to go into all the details of these
superstitions which are held in reverence all over North Africa, and,
though at first sight they may seem to be much the same as those told
in more civilized countries, they are not really believed elsewhere
to the same extent as in North Africa. I will give an example of
a case of witchcraft which occurred only the other day in a family
which I knew intimately, a family educated and acquainted with the
way of the modern world.
A man tiring of his wife and wishing to marry some one else who
refused to share the home, divorced his first wife, who was devoted
to him. She made no protest, but, with the aid of certain learned
_talebs_, set about weaving spells about her ex-husband. The night
of his wedding the _taleb_ said to the woman:
“Prepare a great feast for all your friends, with music and
dancing, and at midnight your husband will return to you.”
She complied with his instructions, and at the midnight hour there
was a banging on the door, and the husband in a dazed state appeared,
imploring his wife’s forgiveness. She at first refused to see him,
and it was not until he had returned a third time that she allowed
him in.
I made an investigation of the case, and I talked to those involved,
who all corroborated the story. The husband told me that, just as
he was about to see his new bride, he felt himself impelled toward
his first wife. He struggled against the feeling, but in vain,
and before he knew where he was he had left his wedding and was
before the door of his late parents-in-law’s house. All this
was explained, of course, by the working of the spell, and any
contradiction of this was considered as the disbelief of an infidel;
the facts were there, and there was nothing further to be said.
I have known cases where some one has desired to spread discord
in a household, and in a short space of time the discord has
arisen without the mischief-maker speaking a word to the parties
concerned. I have seen men commit the greatest follies and trace
them to the intention of some other person who has invoked the aid
of a djinn.
To my mind the explanation is hypnotism—the effect of strong
will on the mind of some weaker person; perhaps auto-suggestion,
but certainly mesmerism carried out secretly.
This, combined with the absolute belief in fate, assures that
thorough absence of any sort of free will which makes the weaving of
spells easy, and it is difficult to make even the better educated
Arabs scoff at its possibilities. All is predestined, and the
casting of spells therefore can not be avoided.
What is the good of going into the matter further? It would only
lead to unnecessary controversy and a disbelief in God’s power.
_Mektoub!_